Here’s How to Turn Off Chat in Facebook Messenger

Follow this guide to appear inactive in the Facebook Messenger app

While Facebook Messenger is a great tool for quickly contacting friends and family, what if you want to take a break from chatting and would prefer not to be bothered? Did you know Messenger allows you to turn off chat so that you won’t appear in your friends’ “Active” lists? Friends can still send you messages even while you have chat turned off, but by appearing to be “inactive,” you may discourage them from doing so.

If you’ve yet to try this feature yourself, our guide will show you how. Note: These screenshots were captured in the Facebook Messenger application on iOS.

Step 1: Tap “People” in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

Step 2: Tap “Active.”

Step 3: Tap the green switch to turn off chat and appear inactive. You can tap the button again to turn chat back on.

It’s worth noting that you can still send messages while chat is off, but you won’t be able to see your own currently “active” friends.